This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001946 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL 
JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2003 
 
 
THIS REPORT WILL PRESENT A TURKISH PRESS SUMMARY UNDER THREE 
THEMES: 
 
 
HEADLINES 
BRIEFING 
EDITORIAL OPINION 
                         ------- 
 
 
HEADLINES 
 
 
MASS APPEAL 
Gen. Ozkok tours leaders for national consensus - Hurriyet 
Gen. Ozkok: No hurry for Northern Iraq - Sabah 
U.S. troops toward Baghdad swamp - Milliyet 
U.S. puzzled by unexpected resistance - Turkiye 
Medical crisis in Baghdad - Turkiye 
Americans debate U.S. war strategy - Hurriyet 
Black Oscars - Aksam 
 
 
OPINION MAKERS 
Northern Front opened by Kurds - Radikal 
Iraqi towns closed to U.S. troops - Radikal 
Saddam urges Iraqis to resist - Yeni Safak 
Guerrilla warfare slows down U.S. troops - Zaman 
U.S., UK suffer heavy casualties - Cumhuriyet 
Oscar ceremony: Shame on you, Bush! - Cumhuriyet 
 
 
FINANCIAL JOURNALS 
TOBB to government: Turkey must sit at Iraq negotiating 
table - Dunya 
Government to pursue tight fiscal policy - Finansal Forum 
Nightmare returns: US$ to TL1.8 million, interest rates 75 
percent - Finansal Forum 
 
 
 
 
BRIEFING 
 
 
Iraq: Dailies draw attention to TGS Chief General Ozkok's 
remarks that the Turkish military sees no urgent need to 
enter Northern Iraq, but might do so at an appropriate time. 
Gen. Ozkok and army commanders called on Prime Minister 
Erdogan and opposition leader  Baykal on Monday.  The 
meetings came after Erdogan and Baykal issued statements 
urging intervention in the region.  Ozkok reportedly said 
that deploying Turkish troops despite warnings by the U.S. 
would be perceived as declaration of war on the U.S.-led 
coalition.  According to papers, the military believes that 
the U.S. might seek cooperation with Turkey to avoid 
problems encountered on the Southern Front, that a Turkish 
air corridor might be used to transfer troops to Northern 
Iraq, that the U.S. might need Turkish military support to 
place heavy weapons in Northern Iraq, and that the U.S. may 
seek the use of Turkish airbases.  Military commanders see 
an incursion into Iraq as unnecessary for the time being, 
but they say that deployment of a peacekeeping force might 
be considered.  General Ozkok is expected to hold a press 
conference in the border town of Silopi on Tuesday (Note: 
the press conference was subsequently canceled and 
rescheduled for tomorrow in Diyarbakir.  End note.) 
"Radikal" reports an anonymous high-level government 
official as saying that a new motion for cooperation with 
the U.S. might be in the offing.  The U.S. conveyed to 
Turkey on Sunday a request for access to Turkish bases -- 
namely Incirlik, Diyarbakir, Batman, and Malatya -- and the 
government and TGS are examining the technical aspects of 
the issue.  Papers report that U.S. envoy for Iraq Khalilzad 
and General Colby Broadwater held meetings with MFA 
officials to discuss the conditions for Turkish military 
action in Northern Iraq.  Khalilzad said that the U.S. would 
not object to `cooperating' with Turkish military action in 
the region.  He warned Turkey not to set up closed security 
zones that would give the impression of military occupation, 
and insisted that any troops be withdrawn as soon as the 
refugee and security threats are over.  Kurdish groups are 
against such a deal between the U.S. and Turkey, and the 
search for an acceptable agreement continues.  Greek Foreign 
Minister Papandreou said Iraq's neighbors should not get 
involved in the war, while a Greek government spokesman 
voiced Athens' concern about Turkish efforts to `occupy 
Northern Iraq.'  In a front page story, "Radikal" says that 
U.S. forces are landing in Northern Iraq to fight together 
with KDP peshmerge stationed near Mosul, and PUK fighters 
near Kirkuk. 
 
 
JP Morgan on Turkey: "Hurriyet" carries a JP Morgan 
investment report claiming that  Turkey has sufficient 
resources to handle its debt repayment in the next six 
months without U.S. financial assistance.  The report 
estimates one percent growth for Turkey in 2003, and three 
percent in 2004, and stresses that the AKP government still 
has a chance to secure macroeconomic and structural 
discipline.  JP Morgan also warned that a possible 25 
decrease in tourism revenues and border trade due to the 
Iraqi war might adversely affect the 2003 growth target. 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  War in Iraq 
 
 
"Law is patience" 
Oktay Eksi wrote in mass appeal Hurriyet (3/25): "President 
Bush calls on the Iraqi regime to comply with the Geneva 
Conventions on treatment of POWs.  He is very right by 
referring to the Geneva Conventions on this issue.  Yet 
something is just not right.  President Bush remains at the 
top of the list of `leaders who blatantly violate 
international law.'  However, he now calls on others to 
comply with international law and regulations.  . One 
wonders if the Geneva Conventions are binding for Iraq and 
not for the US." 
 
 
"Shock and horror" 
Erhan Basyurt wrote in the Islamic-intellectual Zaman 
(3/25): "The US operation in Iraq has been named `shock and 
horror.'  However, the course of the action shows that the 
`shock' part went to the coalition forces due to an 
unexpectedly stiff resistance.  . There are two major 
reasons why the Iraqis resist despite the US intention of 
freeing the Iraqi people and bring democracy.  The US 
conducted a well-prepared psychological war campaign in the 
media prior to the operation, but none of the messages got 
through to the people of Iraq.  A people living without 
satellite dishes or internet access does not know anything 
about the real world.  The Iraqis still believe that they 
are fighting against British colonial forces, which they 
fought for independence, or against the new superpower, 
which is after oil.  It seems that Saddam's regime has 
successfully managed to inject this psychology into the 
minds of the Iraqi people." 
 
 
"Northern Iraq" 
Sami Kohen noted in mass appeal Milliyet (3/25): "The 
northern Iraq issue has become a problem not only for 
Turkey, but also on the international agenda. . In an effort 
to clarify misunderstandings, Turkey should be persuasive 
and clear about its long-term policies in northern Iraq. 
Turkey's insistence on deploying troops in northern Iraq is 
interpreted as part of an effort to control the Kurds. . 
There is speculation about Turkey's strategy for the Kurds 
in the region, with some saying that Turkey would not object 
to a federal structure where Iraqi Kurds can enjoy a certain 
degree of autonomy.  We just don't know whether this is true 
or not, however, because the northern Iraq issue has not 
been clarified by Ankara policy-makers." 
 
 
PEARSON